NEW ORLEANS—His own coach at Kentucky and the one competing in the same state, John Calipari and Rick Pitino, both made the Bill Russell comparison last weekend. Calipari even asked directly: Do you, Anthony Davis, know who Bill Russell is?

Yes, Davis does know, and later on that day, he jabbed back at Calipari: “See, he thought I didn’t know who he was.”

Davis had better get used to it, though. From now until his soon-to-begin NBA career ends, he’ll be questioned about other legendary big men. Tim Duncan. Patrick Ewing. Hakeem Olajuwon. Shaquille O’Neal. Alonzo Mourning. Bill Walton.

Dare we say, even Lew Alcindor? Does the 19-year-old Davis, fresh off one of the dominant first collegiate seasons anyone has ever seen, capped by an unforgettable showing in the national championship game, know him?

No, this isn’t an exercise in the limits of hyperbole. The first mention of Russell—from Pitino, after Louisville had the sky blotted out by Davis in the national semifinals Saturday—seemed a bit over the top at the time. Not any more.

Speaking of limits, it’s now far too restricting just to discuss the 6-foot-10 Davis in the context of the greatest freshman seasons ever. Or in the context of simply college basketball, for that matter. Forget “Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison and Carmelo Anthony, his predecessors as freshmen Final Four most outstanding players, and Kevin Durant, the last previous freshman to be named national player of the year.

It takes reaching into the pros to find players who compare to Davis, who controlled games without scoring.

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Duncan’s signature game was Game 6 of the 2003 Finals, against the Nets, when his shot-blocking, rebounding and passing sparked a 19-0 fourth-quarter run that clinched the title. He didn’t score a single point in that run. Plus, he held Kenyon Martin to 3-for-23 shooting for the game. Martin’s reputation has never recovered.

Yet, obviously, Davis can score: he hit 7-of-8 shots in the semifinal against Louisville and finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. He averaged 14.2 points a game on the season, for a team that proved it didn’t even need his scoring.

And it’s worth pointing out that he wasn’t doing this against undersized centers, out-of-position power forwards or lumbering giants. His last three college games featured no less than four future NBA big men: Baylor’s Perry Jones, Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng, Kansas’s Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey. So put the arguments about the quality of competition aside.

The NBA can wait for Davis’ offense to catch up. Remember, Ewing was not considered a scoring threat when he entered the league, and he’d spent four years in school. Everything about Davis’ game has room to expand.

Duncan’s did. Olajuwon’s mesmerizing footwork wasn’t something he’d brought from college. Shaq didn’t need much more than dunks at LSU. Dwight Howard had practically no offensive game when he came straight from high school.

Until Davis finds ways to score points in the NBA, we’ll be satisfied with the ones he takes away from other teams.

Davis will have to be satisfied with constant pop quizzes about the greatest centers ever to play the game—and how close he’s getting to all of them.